Every victim has the right, on request, to information about (a) the criminal justice system and the role of victims in it; (b) the services and programs available to them as a victim, including restorative justice programs; and (c) their right to file a complaint for an infringement or denial of any of their rights under this Act.

Canadian Victims Bill of Rights

Dr. D. Scharie Tavcer, Associate Professor in the Department of Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies at Mount Royal University

I feel privileged to teach and supervise students – future justice workers. Although I teach on a variety of topics, one particular agenda I always include within my curriculum is to inspire students to put compassion and empathy in their toolboxes. I want my students to realize that each of us has a story – we know someone who struggles with addiction, sexual assault, mental illness, or is in an abusive relationship … or maybe it’s us. And how people treat us, how people make us feel, has a huge impact on the way we navigate in this world and deal with trauma. And how we treat our clients is the same: how we make them feel will make a difference in how they recover and how they reintegrate back into society. Doing that with compassion and empathy will make all the difference.
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crisis calls to Alberta shelters in 2018
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Albertans have experienced sexual violence

Areas of Scholarship & research

  • Feminist lens to understanding crime, social disorder, and the criminal justice system. 
  • Intersectional examination of gendered-violence, sexual violence, and interpersonal violence.
  • Criminalized people and the challenges they face  reintegrating into the community.
  • Trauma informed care and practices.
  • Occupational stress injuries in justice workers.
  • Criminal law and sentencing.

Newly added as a Research Associate with the University of Guelph Centre for the Study of Social and Legal Responses to Violence.

Education & experience

  • Doctorate in Sociology, major in Criminology (2007) with the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law and the Albert-Ludwigs Universität both in Freiburg, Germany.
  • Masters of European Criminology (2000) with the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Leuven, Belgium.
  • Prior to a career in academia, Dr. Tavcer worked for the Correctional Services of Canada in Alberta and British Columbia, as a parole officer, correctional worker, and program therapist in a violent offender treatment program.
  • Dr. Tavcer has served as secretary on the Board of Directors with the Elizabeth Fry Society of Calgary; as a researcher and advocate in various projects with the United Way of Calgary & Area, the Prostitution Awareness & Action Foundation of Edmonton, the Shift Program, RESET Society (formerly the Servants Anonymous Society of Calgary), Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter, and the Justice Sector Constellation of the Poverty Reduction Coalition of Calgary.

NEWS & RECENT WORK